It is a timiri type nagaswaram with six openings. It requires tremendous energy from the player, says Swaminathan, a former nagaswaram temple artist. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Kumbabishhekam (Consecration) of the adikummombomer temple in kumbakonam, scheduled for December 1 this year, will also highlight the unique sone nagaswaram preserved in the temple. The instrument was last played years ago during the ayudhu puja. It will be played again on November 28 as part of the rituals leading up to Kumbabishhekam.
“It is a timiri nagaswaram with six holes and we use a ‘seevali’ made for timiri nagaswaram. The instrument has its limitations and it is difficult to play suddha maddhyma ragas on it. But the nagaswaram player can handle pratimadhyama ragas. It also requires a lot of energy from the nagas player Swaminathan,” said the nagaswaram artiste. Adikumbeshwarar Temple.
The pipe of the instrument, known as “uzhau”, is made of stone. The front part, called the ‘anus’, acts as a volume enhancer and the end part is where the reed is inserted. These parts are made of brass. Mr. Swaminathan will play the instrument on November 28 along with his nephew Tamilarasan, the present nagaswaram player at the temple.
Although there are no records of when the instrument was made, the writer Ki of Kumbakonam. Ra. Gopalan wrote the short story Kal Naayanam, an imaginative account of its origin. The story is part of the collection Kumbakonathu Kathaigal compiled by Rani Thilak. One of the many great writers of Kumbakonam, Gopalan wrote under the pseudonyms Kaatur Kannan, Konal and Thuthikaiyar.
The story begins with the Navaratri celebrations at the temple. Among the dolls that adorn Gola is a stone nagaswaram discovered in a room that had been locked for many years. “If there was a sculptor capable of making a nagaswaram, there would surely be a nagaswaram player who could do it,” says Natarajan, a character in the story.
As they admire the instrument, another character, Vaidhi, begins to narrate a story: Once upon a time there lived in Kumbakonam a sculptor named Nagesan and his close friend Muthukumaran, an excellent nagaswaram player. Nagesan’s sister Anjana was in love with Muthukumaran. When Muthukumaran wondered if Nagesan could carve a nagaswaram in stone, the sculptor said yes, if someone was ready to play for it. “Are you ready to give up your profession if I can play it? If I fail, I will never touch the nagaswaram again,” said Muthukumaran.
Nagesan instead stated that if Muthukumaran could not play the stone nagaswaram, he would not marry his sister. This shocked Anjana who even secretly tried to break the instrument but failed.
After the nagaswaram was completed, a date was fixed for its performance. Muthukumaran picked up the instrument effortlessly and played it as if he had been doing it for years.
As everyone looked on in awe, Muthukumaran explained that he began his practice by holding an iron pipe heavier than a stone nagaswaram and “playing” it in his mind, imagining it as a real instrument. “The first two or three days it was difficult, but then it became normal,” he told the audience.
Published – 16 Nov 2025 19:20 IST
